Defence Secretary
Gavin Williamson
denies leaking details
of the Huawei dealHuawei was founded
in 1987by the engineer
and businessman
Ren Zhengfei
38 29 May - 11 June 2019
Why is the manufacturer of highly praised smartphones proving so
controversial – and can it be trusted? David Crookes explains all
Huawei
What is Huawei?
Huawei (pronouncedwah-way) is a
multinationaltelecommunications and
electronicscompanyfounded and based
in China. It’s the world’s fastest-growing
smartphone manufacturer, behind only
Samsung and Apple in popularity, and is
at the forefront of making and providing
equipmentfor numerous phone
networks. As such, it’s at the cutting
edge oftechnology, but the UK
government’s decisionto allow Huawei to
supply equipmentfor future 5G networks
has proved controversial, with critics
claiming thecompany cannot be trusted.
Why are peoplewary of Huawei?
The companywas formed in 1987by
a formerPeople’s Liberation Army (PLA)
officer calledRen Zhengfei, and is said
to have ties to the
Chinese government
(the FBIreported
that itreceives
support from
senior Chinese
CommunistParty
officials and PLA
commanders).
While many
countries are
keen to strike a
business
relationship with
China, there’s aworry that Huawei’s links
to an authoritarianregimecould
compromise the security of its products,
and afear that theycould becomea
vehiclefor industrial espionage.The US
is warning theworld notto deal with the
company and is sending out diplomatic
warningsto countries that do.In whatway is the UKworking
with Huawei?
It emerged in April that the British
governmentwas planningto let Huawei
build “non-core”components of the
country’sforthcoming 5G network.
This means thecompany will provide
equipment such as antennas, butwon’t
be in volved with decisionsover howto
route voice calls or data, or have any role
in checking device IDs. Huawei hasa
long-standingrelationship with the UK–
it supplies equipmentfor existing mobile
networks and employs 1,500 people here.So what’s the big deal?
Several UK cabinet members have
warned about possible risksto national
security, and theseconcerns and other
confidential talks surrounding a decision
to use thecompanywere leakedto the
DailyTelegraph. Defence SecretaryGavin
Williamsonwas sackedfor his
involvement in the leak (which he denies)
and the UnitedStat es, having got windof the UK’s intentions,
said working with
“unsecure and
untrusted
vendors”would
lead to a
reassessment
of America’s
information-
sharing
arrangements.
Aust ralia and New
Zealand also
believe Huawei
poses a security risk and all three have
stopped Huawei pr ovidingtechnology
for 5G networks in theirown countries.Is politics playing a big part?
Yes, politics is arguably underlying the
whole furoreover Huawei. China and the
US are becoming fierce business rivals,
with theformer’s ra pid rise securing its
place in a globalisedworld. The UK,for
its part, iskeen notto upset China given
the uncertaintyover Br exit and the need
for greater global trade. Canada’s
relationship with Chinawas strained
when Sabrina MengWanzhou, Huawei’s
chief financial officer,was arrested at
Vancouver airportat the request of the
US last December. Shestood accused of
misleading banks about Huawei’s
business dealings in Iran in defiance ofFAQEverything you need to know about the mostinteresting new technology trends and events